LOCATIONS — 251/262 — Rabstein
Rabstein Castle (from German: ‘Rabe’ - raven, and ‘Stein’ - stone, therefore sometimes also known as Krkavec Castle, Raven’s Stone or Crow Stone) was built in the 14th century by Nicolaus Rabenstein, a wealthy burgher from Kuttenberg. The settlement likely stood on a promontory above the Vejvanovský stream which flows into the Vrchlitz (Bach) river. A mill called Rabštejnka was later built near the castle. Sources mention the castle until its demise in 1455. Local floods often occurred in the vicinity of Vrchlitz river, so today most of the ruins are submerged. We know that after Rabenstein’s death, the property belonged to other rich families from Kuttenberg: the Rotlevs, after 1416 the Piseks, and then the Lems. For the purposes of our game, however, we have decided to present the site in the form of a romantic ruin.
TRIVIA
— That nothing of the old Rabštejnka Mill and little of the castle remains is not the result of floods, but of deliberate flooding, conducted between 1966 and 1970 for the construction of the Vrchlice Dam. The idea to artificially exploit the water flow of the Vrchlice River existed since the 16th century. In 1948, a new legislation stripped smaller mills of their right for commercial milling, only allowing milling for self-sufficiency benefits. Operations of Rabštejnka became too expensive, the mill was taken over by local farm collectives, the former mill fell into disrepair. In the 1960s, five mills including Rabštejnka and a large part of the village Stará Lhota were bought up and largely demolished; trees were cut down, a 132 metres long concrete curved arch dam was erected. The entire landscape was reshaped from a rugged, mountainous terrain into a flat lake merging with the plateau around it. The reservoir serves mainly as drinking water supply for the larger area of Kutná Hora, but also to maintain the water level, and for supplying hydropower generation and the golf resort of Roztěž. It is said that on days when the water in the reservoir is low, the ruins of some of the mills can still be seen within the water. Old records of the former owners of both the mill and the castle say that the castle was once bounded by a pond and a dam on one side, used for the work on a nearby mine shaft. The mill is recorded since the 14th century, and after 1455, when the castle was last mentioned, it was run by individual millers from the villages of Malešov, Dobřen and Roztěz, or Kutná Hora. The forest around the mill served as the owners' personal hunting ground, in the 19th century, fruit trees and an apiary with over 50 beehives were added. All of that was lost in the water. From the old castle only a few stones of the former walls remain, as well as something that might belong to a collapsed cellar.
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